Reflection for Youth - Bravery, hope, and finishing what we started

This week's gospel passage from Luke is a short one- just four short versus. But it has me thinking about three big things.

Read Luke 13: 31-35

Jesus and the disciples had been traveling around the countryside of Galilee for a long time. Some people would travel with him for a few days, and then go home. At other times, large crowds came to hear Jesus preach and teach and they brought sick people to be healed.

According to the writer of Luke, Jesus was planning during his whole journey to end up in Jerusalem. 

And now here they were outside of the city walls.

The scripture versus are titled "The Lament over Jerusalem" in my NRSV translation of the Bible.

Here's the gist of this small section of scripture:

Some Pharisees came to Jesus. Pharisees were Jewish leaders who believed that following the law of Moses was the most important thing to do. We have heard other stories about how the Pharisee’s had tried to trick Jesus with difficult questions. But not this time. These guys must have been feeling sympathetic toward Jesus because they warned him. They told him to go away because Herod wanted to kill him.

Jesus said “You tell that fox that I will be teaching and healing for three days, and then I’ll come to the city.” Jesus goes on to lament to the Pharisees, disciples, and anyone else who may have been around and listening the Jerusalem is maybe not so much a great place. It's people have killed prophets and stoned messengers that were sent.  Jesus talks about how he wants to gather the people together and protect them - like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings - but the people will not let him.  He ends by saying they will not see him until the time when they will say "Blessed is the one who come in the name of the Lord." 

That's it - short and sweet.  So here are the three things this passage has me thinking about this week. 

1. Bravery.  Have you heard the song called "Brave" by Sara Bareilles? There's a line in the song - "show me how big your brave is."  I heard it the other day on the car radio and this passage has me thinking about just how brave Jesus was - I mean like BIG, HUGE Brave. He's heading into the city where he knows he's the target of the leaders of the Roman empire. He talks about how prophets are killed and stoned in Jerusalem. AND these Pharisees come right out and tell him that Herod wants his head on silver platter (think John the Baptist.)  Yet, while he laments about the threats waiting for him in Jerusalem, he's not scared away. He says he has more to do and doesn't have time for these Jerusalem's shenanigans.  That's a pretty big brave.   Sara, in her song sings: 

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave

Jesus did that. He didn't hold in his words. I am thinking a lot this week about what it means to be "big brave"- to speak out like Jesus did about what makes us lament.

What are some ways that you have been - or can be brave?

2. Turning violence in to hope.  There's so much violence in the world around us. Jesus recognizes  the violence of prophets being killed and stoned. Yet he still expresses his hope for the people. He uses the image of a mother hen taking care of her chicks.  We can take comfort in knowing that Jesus wants to bring people together and share God's love. I am thinking this week about how we can find hope among the worst situations. 

 I am reminded by this group of peacemakers who are taking guns and making them in to garden tools. Give this article a read!

 Guns to Garden Tools

What are some elements of hope that you can recognize in the violence that is happening in our world today?

How can you help make that hope more present in your every day life?

3. Finishing. The last thing I am thinking about when I read this week's passage is finishing - or following through. Jesus shows us a good example of that here.   I think in this scripture we are hearing a story about how Jesus was ready to finish what he started to do.  

It's one thing to leave a crossword puzzle, knitting project, or a video game uncompleted.  I am not talking about that kind of stuff. I am talking about the stuff that depends on your follow through once you start them. Like getting a pet or planting flowers. If you don't take care of them with food and water they will die.  Jesus wasn’t finished teaching people and healing people. God sent Jesus to teach about love and it was very important that Jesus do everything in the way God intended. He wanted and need to finish what he had started. I've been thinking about just how grateful I am that Jesus was all these things: Brave, a person that can turn violence into hope, and a example of someone called to finish his work of sharing God's message. 

What kind of things in your life are important to finish? 

That's a lot of things to think about from just one short scripture passage. Whew! My brain is full! until next week...